Guerlain Calligraphy Eye & Lip Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:00:58 +0000

Guerlain Calligraphy Eye & Lip Palette

Full of Product and Quality

Guerlain Calligraphy Eye & Lip Palette ($79.00 for 0.35 oz.) consists of three eyeshadows, one eyeshadow/eyeliner (can be used wet or dry), two lipsticks, and two dual-ended brushes. The palette contains 0.19 oz. worth of eyeshadow and 0.16 oz. worth of lipstick. It’s almost the equivalent of four full-sized eyeshadows (average is 0.05 oz.) and about one and a half lipsticks (average is 0.10 oz.).

The first shade is a pale gold with a soft, frosted finish. It had nice color payoff, and it was very soft and smooth to apply. Cinderella Charming is very comparable. Tarina Tarantino Fantastical is not as yellow. Tarina Tarantino Dreamy is a bit browner. MAC Femme-fi is similar. MAC Nylon is yellower.

Below, the second shade is a light-medium copper orange with a frosted finish. It had excellent pigmentation with a soft, finely-milled texture that went on smoothly. Urban Decay Penny Lane is lighter, less orange. MAC Lantern Light has more red tones. MAC Chessa is more orange.

The third shade is a subdued taupe–a very gray-tinted brown–with a dark champagne shimmer-sheen. It had good color payoff, and the texture was soft, smooth, and easy to apply to the lid. NARS Vent Glace is lighter. theBalm Selfish is darker, grayer. Wet ‘n’ Wild Comfort Zone is lighter.

The fourth shade is a dark black with a hint of brown. This shade can actually be used wet or dry. It has a matte finish, and it actually delivered quite a bit of color payoff–it was finely-milled and soft, but it was dry in a sense. It didn’t have a really soft, buttery feel, so there was no powderiness yet nice pigmentation. Estee Lauder Violet Underground has a similar colored black. Le Metier de Beaute Fin is darker, richer.

The first lipstick is a blue-based, medium red with a fair amount of brightness and a satiny finish–a little sheen and pearl but not frosted. It was rich in color, and it wore for seven hours, plus left a stain behind. Dior Marilyn is a smidgen darker. NARS Dragon Girl is more matte. NYX Chic Red is a touch darker.

The second lipstick is an orange-red–very tomato red–with a satiny sheen. It is also fully opaque on lips and wore for six and a half hours. There was a light stain left behind. Chanel Coromandel is more orange. Guerlani Genna is a little more orange-hued. Chanel Excessive is a smidgen brighter.

Overall, it’s a very fine palette; well-made with a sleek, glossy black packaging and includes high-quality eyeshadows and lipsticks that wear well. I think the shades are more dupeable than not, but they’re all really good. I didn’t have issues with any of them! When I wore the eyeshadows together, they lasted for eight hours without a primer and had no signs of creasing or fading. The lipsticks both wore for over six hours (not a total surprise–they are reds!) and weren’t drying.